Talks - Power of Thought

Power of Thought

Power of Thought

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
, 1999-01-08

Gurudeva answers a question about the power of thought, the individual powers of creation, preservation and destruction and how these work on a personal level. He stresses the importance of speaking good words and of what to do when bad words are spoken.

Unedited Transcript:

Today at Kauai Aadheenam. January 8th.

Well, greetings everyone! 'Happy Birthday to me' is over and we are looking forward to another year.

Ken Lewis tells us, from Ohio, that yesterday is a cancelled check, and tomorrow is a promisary note. Today is the only cash we have, so spend it wisely.

And we always make our fortune today. We don't know what tomorrow brings. We know what yesterday was. Yesterday was very nice.

( And )Also Anthony Quinn, the great movie star, 'Zorba the Greek', 'The Shoes of the Fisherman' and many other great presentations on the silver screen, is in Honolulu, having dinner with our Governor, and is flying to Kauai to be with us for a few days. Incidentally, he is doing a beautiful movie on Hinduism in India, at eighty-three years of age, and he doesn't want to make any mistakes or offend any of the Hindus throughout the world. So, he is consulting with us at 'Hinduism Today' and we sent two of our mathavasis, Acharya Ceyonswami and Natyam Thondunatha and our Grihasthi missionary, Deva Rajan to talk with him. They spent about four or five hours talking constantly about Hindu Culture, the basics of Hindu religion. (And )He will be coming with his family to the beautiful Garden Island of Kauai for three or four days to be with us and experience an authentic, Indian style, Hindu monastery.

We want to thank Easvan Param for being with us on Task Force for nine days and doing the electrical work at the Kadavul Hindu temple. Arvind Kumar from Texas, and his wife and daughter were here, doing sadhana by the river and learning so many wonderful things. We plan to see them again on the big boat going to Alaska in June.

Here is another question. I think it is from Isvara in Malaysia. It is about dreams. "Are dreams important?" Well yes, some dreams are important and other dreams are only subconscious ramblings of yesterday and the day before that. But, most importantly in 'Merging with Siva' about three or four weeks ago, and it is right in your computer right now, is a long dissertation about dreams. (And)If you listen to that, it is in the 'Lesson of the Day', you will get a very, very good synopsis, a very precise analysis of the dream world.

(And)Back to Toledo, Ohio wanting to know if there is a great Guru there.

Well, we don't know of any but there is a Hindu Temple. You go to the Hindu temple, Ken, talk to the elders there. They may introduce you to someone that will benefit your life. But in every Hindu temple, the Gods are being channeled through the deities of the temple and your life will begin to change each time you go.

Lord Siva is here, there and everywhere. If you go looking for Lord Siva, you will find Him in the leaves on the trees. You will find Him in the movement of the wind. You will find Him in the energy of the ocean. You will find Him in the life of the birds and the animals and the peoples on the Earth, as well as the fish in the sea. Lord Siva IS. As our Vedas tell us, the oldest scripture on the planet explains, Siva is the Life of your life. Without Siva, there would be no life. Without Siva, there would be no Sun, no Moon, no stars, no planets, no galaxies, no Universe. Without Siva, there would be nothing. Siva is the great Manifestor, the great Preserver, and the great Absorber.

(And)You do that too in a very, very small way. Each one in cyberspace creates, preserves, and destroys. Take thoughts, for example. You create a thought. You preserve that thought until it manifests or you destroy that thought, so it won't manifest. The first creation mechanism on this planet is thought. So we must watch our thoughts. They must always be positive.

Often people, (and I have seen this happen and you've seen this happen too,) make a wonderful creation in the thought world, and then become negative, (and )wondering why it might not work out and they destroy the thought which was a good thought, a good plan before it ever had the chance to manifest. [I have seen this happen and you've seen this happen too.]

(So, with)[Everyone has] these three powers( that everyone has). The same powers (as) [that] Siva has on a broad scale, we have in a miniature scale. Creation, preservation and dissolution. (and)It begins with a thought. Then it comes to words. We can create with words also because words are a little bit stronger than thought. You can create someone to like you. You can create someone to dislike you by your words. (So)Therefore, if you say words that you wish you haven't said, dissolve those words through apologizing. Dissolve those words by apologizing to the individual, so they won't think badly of you and distance themselves from you.

Many people are all alone living on the planet because they have used words so unkindly and so often that everyone distances themselves from them. (And )That is a terrible loneliness. That is a loneliness that can only be healed by deep remorse, sincere apologies, to awaken a compassionate heart and to watch the thoughts and watch the words so that they are always true, kind, helpful and necessary.

Some good advice to begin this New Year. We'll see and talk to you again tomorrow. January 9th, will be tomorrow.